Many organizations today carry out their daily work according to a set of standard operation (more frequently Operating) procedures, or SOPs. Standard operation procedures can be found in government departments, in military units, hospitals and companies and organizations of all shapes and sizes. Standard operation procedures are sets of written instructions that record a routine or recurring action that is pursued by an organization.
The development and use of standard operation procedures is an essential part of a winning quality system as it provides individuals with information that enables them to carry out a job properly, and makes possible reliability in the quality and integrity of a product or end-result. Standard operation procedures are sometimes known as protocols, instructions, worksheets, and laboratory operation procedures.
Standard operation procedures usually specify the frequently recurring work processes that are carried out or followed within an organization. They document the way actions are to be carried out in an organization so that results conform to a regular and steady standard.
They may, for example, detail the way a machine is to be calibrated and maintained in order to produce regular accurate results and to comply with government requirements. Standard operation procedures need to be reviewed and reinforced on a regular basis by management to ensure that they are complied with.
Changes to standard operation procedures need to be displayed and conveyed to staff as they are made in order for them to work in an efficient manner.
The development and use of standard operation procedures reduces variation and encourages quality through the steady execution of a process within an organization, even if there are staff changes. Standard operation procedures can be used as a part of a staff training program, since they should provide detailed work instructions.
An example of standard operation procedures in the rules laid down by the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO) governing the procedures for the registration of Intellectual Property.
For example, you cannot just go along to their offices and apply for a patent for a particular device that you have thought of. Exact procedures have to be followed. The device has to be described in a particular manner and has to comply with certain qualifications in order for it to be eligible for an application for patent registration.
Similar conditions apply to the registration of trade marks and of designs. Many of the larger Firms of Attorneys retain Intellectual Property lawyers who specialize in this field and who know all of the legal requirements and standard operation procedures governing applications made to this body.
For example an invention needs to comply with three basic requirements before it will even be considered for the granting of a patent. It must display novelty – that means that it must pass a prior art test to ensure that it really is novel. It must not be so obvious that anyone trained in the field of the invention could have thought of it himself, and it must be useful to commerce, industry or agriculture.
If you have any queries regarding standard operation procedures or in general about intellectual property, one of our attorneys will be happy to help you.
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